Chapter 204

A shadow blocked the glaring light. Gu Yun saw a large hand covering her eyes; there were thick calluses on the fingers and palms, clean and broad. For a moment, Gu Yun was dazed and wanted to reach out and grab this hand, and she did just that. At the same time, a low, soft hum sounded in her ear, "What are you thinking about so intently?"

The large hand she held was warm but not soft; it seemed that every joint contained power. When she grabbed it, she clearly felt it stiffen. The soft hum in her ear brought her back to her senses in time. Turning her head, she saw Su Ling sitting beside her, and she was holding his hand! Quickly letting go of Su Ling's hand, Gu Yun sat up straight abruptly. Embarrassment was not enough to describe how she felt now, especially under the deep gaze of those black eyes; her heart was beating abnormally fast.

Su Ling withdrew his hand, feeling a sense of loss. The warmth of her fingertips seemed to linger on his palm. He now regretted why he hadn't grabbed her hand tightly just now and let her slip away.

"What are you thinking about?" She had been staring blankly at the horizon just now, as if she were about to disappear into the fragmented sunlight at any moment. That kind of lost expression made one's heart ache.

Gu Yun lowered her head slightly, slowly calming her chaotic emotions. Thinking of Zhuo Qing's entrustment, she didn't know how to tell him for a moment and could only reply in a low voice, "Nothing."

A lie! She might be able to keenly discern the emotions hidden beneath others' expressions, but she was not a person skilled at disguising herself. If something that troubled her extremely hadn't happened, how could someone as firm as her show such an expression?

Just like she had been, he lay comfortably on the grass, looking as if he were determined to wait her out. Su Ling continued to press, "If there is something, just say it. Being hesitant is not your style."

Gu Yun was slightly stunned and asked with a laugh, "In your eyes, what should I be like?"

With a loud laugh, Su Ling said mercilessly, "Arrogant to the point of being overbearing."

Was she? She didn't know who was always shouting and yelling at every turn; if her bones weren't tough enough, her hands would have been crushed by him several times over! Even now, lying flat on the grass, he didn't appear any gentler, still the same tyrannical and dictatorial self. Gu Yun retorted, "Likewise."

Su Ling did not deny it, his low voice still asking without giving up, "Still don't want to say?"

Retracting the smile from the corners of her lips, Gu Yun pondered for a long while, and for once, Su Ling did not press her. After a long time, Gu Yun replied in a low voice, "My sister came to find me just now."

Su Ling did not interrupt her, waiting for her to continue.

"She suspects that Qingfeng—" Pausing for a moment, Gu Yun explained with a sheepish smile, "Our sisters sometimes have the habit of calling each other by name." She already found it difficult enough to call Zhuo Qing "Sister," and to make her call someone much younger than her actual age "Sister" was something she really wasn't used to.

Su Ling nodded, appearing not to care much. Gu Yun continued, "Suspects that Qingfeng's premature birth was intentionally caused by someone."

Su Ling slowly sat up straight, his black eyes narrowing slightly, still saying nothing. Gu Yun could only continue, "Yan Hongtian's interest in her not only fails to protect her but brings her a lot of trouble. The child she gave birth to this time is a prince; I'm afraid she won't be able to keep this child, and she might even lose her own life in the process."

Having said this, Gu Yun stopped, pondering how to continue the next topic.

Seeing her look solemn, Su Ling laughed softly, "The Emperor is not as incompetent as you think. If he wants to protect Qingfeng, no one can hurt her."

Gu Yun didn't think so. She snorted coldly, "The problem is whether your Emperor truly wants to protect Qingfeng, or if the infighting between women is, in his eyes, completely trivial—nothing more than a diversion in life. Does the death of one or two women mean nothing to him? I've heard that many of his children died in infancy; could those all be natural disasters?" She had never believed in coincidences, and even less did she believe there were so many accidents in the world.

What she said was not without reason. Few people could guess the Emperor's thoughts; perhaps only Lou Xiyan could catch a glimpse of them.

Gu Yun sat in silence, looking as if she had more to say. Su Ling's usually cold and arrogant thin lips lifted into a smile. "Tomorrow, I will have Ren send a gold-cast Yazi to the newborn prince as a congratulatory gift from the General's Mansion." He finally understood why she was so distressed. Qingfeng was her sister, and she wanted him to help Qingfeng and that newborn child, but she was too embarrassed to ask.

"Yazi?" Gu Yun didn't react for a moment.

"Yazi is one of the nine sons of the dragon. It loves slaughter, so it is often placed on weapons to intimidate enemy forces."

Hearing Su Ling's explanation, Gu Yun's brows did not relax but instead furrowed even tighter. Su Ling controlled two-thirds of the military power in Qiongyue; sending such a mythical beast that represented baleful energy to a prince—anyone with a discerning eye would see the hidden meaning. If someone with ulterior motives were to make an issue of it and anger the tyrannical Yan Hongtian, wouldn't that be inviting a huge trouble for the General's Mansion? Gu Yun shook her head and replied, "Doing this is far too obvious. If it gives others a handle to use against you..."

"Are you worried about me?" Su Ling didn't wait for her to finish, his tone even bordering on urgent.

Gu Yun was speechless. Meeting his overly intense gaze, her eyes began to wander. "I am worried about the entire General's Mansion!"

Although Gu Yun's answer was barely satisfactory, her flustered expression made Su Ling's mood improve slightly. She had finally felt his affection, hadn't she?

"Rest assured, the prince is a son of the dragon, and the General's Mansion is a place that values martial arts over literature, so sending a Yazi is not inappropriate. Furthermore, the Empress's family power is already strong enough; if the position of Crown Prince falls into their hands, this empire might change hands. Lou Xiyan and I supporting Qingfeng can balance the interests involved. The Emperor will only be happy to see it happen, so you don't need to worry. And—" Su Ling paused for a moment, his tone shifting, "Since Lou Xiyan has already made a move, I can't just stand by and watch."

*Since Lou Xiyan has already made a move, I can't just stand by and watch*—Gu Yun silently repeated this sentence, her face becoming increasingly flushed. Lou Xiyan was Zhuo Qing's husband, so helping was a matter of course. Him saying he couldn't stand by and watch—what was he trying to imply...

Was this a roundabout confession? Gu Yun clearly had no experience in dealing with such situations and stammered, "Actually, you don't need to accommodate me so much."

After saying this, Gu Yun suddenly felt it was inappropriate. By saying this, what did she want Su Ling to answer? If he really had feelings for her, wasn't this forcing him to confess?

A feeling of wanting to cry but being unable to, combined with extreme nervousness, made her simply lower her head. If she couldn't see, it wouldn't bother her; now it would be best if she were deaf too, and be done with it.

Actually, at this moment, not only was Gu Yun annoyed, but Su Ling was also a bit bewildered. He had lived for so many years, and few women had appeared in his life. If it were before, let alone confessing, he would have felt annoyed even just talking to a woman for a few sentences. He absolutely would not say sweet nothings. Now, facing such a question, he didn't know what the best next sentence would be. Finally, he sullenly blurted out, "I am willing!"

*I am willing? * Gu Yun was startled and looked up at Su Ling, dumbfounded.

Willing to what? Willing to accommodate? Why did this sound so strange! The two of them stared at each other with wide eyes for a long time.

Gu Yun stared at him with wide eyes, and Su Ling's heart tightened; he also felt his previous answer was very clumsy. A dark red flush appeared under his swarthy complexion, fortunately not too obvious. Although he was nervous as hell inside, his face still wore an expression as if someone owed him hundreds of thousands. Gu Yun burst into laughter; she hadn't expected him to have such a cute side.

This laugh broke the ambiguous atmosphere from just before. Gu Yun laughed somewhat exaggeratedly, and Su Ling's expression truly darkened this time.

Clearing her throat to hide her laughter, Gu Yun hurriedly changed the subject, "Why did you come back so early today?"

Provoked by Gu Yun's laugh, Su Ling snorted coldly, "It's the first day of training; I came back to check, but I didn't expect the instructor to be slacking off!"

"I—" Gu Yun originally wanted to explain, but then she thought about it—it was indeed her who had left her post without authorization first. Wrong was wrong; there was nothing to explain. Gu Yun said seriously, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

He had just said it casually to tease her, but who knew she would take it seriously. Su Ling said urgently, "I was just teasing you, don't take it to heart! Your body hasn't fully recovered yet; whatever needs to be trained, just arrange for it to be done, you don't need to do everything yourself. With the hundreds of thousands of troops in the Su Family Army, I don't attend every single training session either."

Gu Yun remained serious, silent and speechless. Su Ling became even more anxious, "Did you hear what I said?"

Gu Yun stood up, brushing the grass clippings off her clothes and hair, looking as if she hadn't heard a word he said, let alone responding. Fearing she would push herself too hard and collapse her body that had just gotten a little better, Su Ling habitually roared, "This is a military order!"

Gu Yun held a piece of withered grass, a playful smile rising on her lips, and asked neither lightly nor heavily, "Who is being arrogant, General Su?"

Having spent years in the army, he was used to giving orders; it slipped out as soon as he got anxious. Su Ling felt a bit embarrassed, and his expression was naturally very ugly.

It was enough to pull the tiger's whiskers occasionally; if he got angry out of shame later, she would still have to clean up the mess. Gu Yun smiled, "Lunch time is almost over. Does General Su want to go see how your soldiers are training?"

Su Ling remained sitting on the ground, his eagle eyes staring straight at Gu Yun.

Gu Yun raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Not going?"

Su Ling stood up helplessly, "Let's go."

The two walked side by side toward the back mountain, silent all the way. Gu Yun bit her lip secretly; who could tell her how she should get along with him in the future so it wouldn't be awkward?

Arriving at the training ground, they only saw a group of burly men lying straight on the ground, weapons scattered everywhere. Everyone looked as if they had been fished out of water. Some had their eyes tightly closed, while others had their eyes open, staring straight at the tree canopy above, their eyes filled with emptiness.

Su Ling raised his eyebrows slightly, asking with a half-smile, "Is this the new training method you researched?" So he had misunderstood her—she was lying in Yitian Courtyard daydreaming, and the soldiers were daydreaming in the woods?

Gu Yun only felt a flame shoot from the bottom of her heart to the top of her head, and her roar pierced the clouds, "Yu Shijun—"

(End of chapter)